Prudence to the Simple and Spiritual Bears

I've been reading Proverbs lately, and the main thing I've been learning is that I'm a fool.

Several themes have stood out to me, all of which are hammering home my lack of wisdom:

1. The wise are careful in speech and their words lead to salvation, life, and fruitfulness. I'm reminded of my carelessness in speech, particularly on the internet where I don't have to face the immediate consequences of my words, and with close friends and family, where there often is no disapproval or disagreement to make me carefully weigh what I say.

13:3 Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life;
he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.

See also Proverbs 10:8,11,14,18-21,31-32; 11:9,12-13; 12:6,13-14,18-19,23; 13:2; 14:25,33; 15:2,4,7,14

2. Diligence

These are making me re-evaluate my goals for the year, even this riding and writing thing. Am I working my land or following "worthless pursuits"?

Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread,
but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense. (Prov 12:11)

Also Proverbs 10:3-5,26; 12:24,27; 13:4; 14:23; 15:19,21

3. A person's righteousness preserves and saves him/her. As a child of the reformation and Augustinian "miserable sinner" spirituality, I don't like to think in these terms about my righteousness, but these speak rather plainly. Still a balance to be found with other wisdom texts such as Proverbs 20:9 and Ecclesiastes 7:20, and the fulfillment of wisdom in the wise man Jesus, whose life and message are folly to those who trust in their own understanding (1 Cor 1:18-31). Still, the idea of righteousness cultivated becoming such a force in life that it can preserve and save us . . . wow, I'm made aware of how I lack it and drift the other way in bad habits and patterns. But in other ways I've been preserved by righteousness, and as I consider it, all of it is a gift.

11:3 The integrity of the upright guides them,
but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.
4 Riches do not profit in the day of wrath,
but righteousness delivers from death.
5 The righteousness of the blameless keeps his way straight,
but the wicked falls by his own wickedness.
6 The righteousness of the upright delivers them,
but the treacherous are taken captive by their lust.

Also Prov 13:6; 14:27,30

4. Desire and Expectation

15:15 All the days of the afflicted are evil,
but the cheerful of heart has a continual feast.

I've known that feeling before. Have been knowing it some these past weeks. Also Prov 10:24-25,27-28,30; 11:7,23,28; 13:4

5. The wise listen; fools speak. I've been on a speaking kick since the beginning of the year. Okay, writing kick, but I'm challenged by this, especially as I consider how my writing has been degenerating into speculation and sulking.

15:14 The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge,

but the mouths of fools feed on folly.

What fools speak becomes their food. I'm noticing a lot about the importance of patterns, habits, and character. I fall so far short. Also Prov 14:23,33; 15:5,10,12,28,31-32

On the subject of words, I was with my family in Black Mountain over the weekend to celebrate the fourth and my mother's birthday. Monday afternoon my brother opened the door and yelled "Bear!" The men of the house ran out to see it, but it had already scampered into the woods. The women huddled inside and got all protective and hesitant about going to the evening's fireworks display. I went downstairs to poke around where it had gone into the woods, as my brother-in-law commented on how stupid I was. He was right, but it was the most exciting thing I'd heard of in a while, and I was high on endorphins from a hard bike ride, feeling a little invincible, and in the mood for more adventure. Plus, I figured the bear had run off not to return; that if it did return, it would be scared of me more than hostile toward me; and if not, then I could run. Then he told me they can run 35 mph. I picked up some rocks.

We were all on edge, looking up information about on iphones and the like, but since I'm old school and don't have such gadgets, naturally I started reading the Bible. What can I say? I take cues from nature as reminders to listen to what God says about things. My dad mentioned David killing a bear with his hands, and I'd been intrigued in previous months by David's sense of divine intervention in his earthly task of tending sheep, so I turned there again.

1 Samuel 17:32 And David said to Saul, “Let no man's heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” 33 And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.” 34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, 35 I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. 36 Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37 And David said, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!”

What previously stood out to me was that David's confidence that the LORD would deliver him from Goliath was based on his understanding the He had previously delivered him from lions and bears. What struck me this time was the phrase in verse 34, "Your servant used to keep sheep for his father." Why? Because it reminded me of

John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”

Jesus uses the phrase "My Father" five times in John 10, where he also calls himself the "good shepherd" three times, and continues on the theme of his followers as His sheep and a gift from the Father for the whole chapter. David had confidence that God was at work in his shepherding not just because of his personal greatness or piety, but as a foreshadowing of the greater work his descendant would do in shepherding the flock of his Father, the people of God. This got me asking the question, "If that's true, what are the bears and lions our good shepherd defends us from? How does David's striking them down illustrate something greater Jesus does?" Scripture speaks of the devil as a lion:

1 Peter 5:8 Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

Interestingly, that too is in the context of addressing both Christ and ministers in terms of shepherds (1 Peter 5:1-5). But what are the bears? Are there bears that Christ defends us from? I couldn't think of any texts that used bears figuratively to teach truth, but in the meantime we were all suddenly thinking a lot about bears. What kind of bear was this? What do they like to eat? Why do they become dependent when fed by people? What kinds of bears live in the in the Blue Ridge?

Polar bears?

Panda bears?

Koala bears?

Chicago bears?

gummi bears?

Berenstain Bears?

Grateful Dead bears?

Sorry. We'd had a few bears at that point. Beers I mean.

An answer came to me the next morning as I thought more about Proverbs and what it says about the effects and consequences of words, especially after enough time with the family to remember how harsh we can be with each other, and how anxious we all still were at the thought of a 300 lb bear strolling across the yard as we loaded up to leave.

James 3:5 How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.

Almost sounds like a sermon that could be preached by this guy:

Here's the point: we were hyped up over the danger presented by this untamed beast, but all the while oblivious to the untamed beastly words flowing from our mouths that are "full of deadly poison". And how often are we all terrified of those things and creatures that can kill the body, but have no fear for those forces of evil within ourselves that can destroy our souls, and the God who warns us of them who can destroy both soul and body in hell?